"Daicchan, it hurting my heart to watch you flirt with other girl like this in front of my eyes."
Daichi heard a voice behind him. Turning around right away, he saw Shuhei standing a few meters behind him.
Daichi felt cold sweat trickle down his back for some reason upon seeing Shuhei's non-smiling but smiled expression.
"What are you doing here?" Trying to stop Shuhei from approaching, Daichi lost his temper.
"Nothing, just strolling aimlessly in the hope of returning home with the person I love." Shuhei casually replied, "But I didn't expect to see the person I love flirting with someone else."
"Flirting?" Daichi sneered. "I found your spy, so I guess you should be worried,"
Shuhei cocked his head. "What spy?"
"The person you asked to take pictures of me in class! I've found her!"
"Huh? Do other people enjoy taking pictures of you as much as I do?" Shuhei's expression was grim.
The way Shuhei phrased the question bothered Daichi, Shuhei ignored Daichi's irate expression.
Shuhei's body is tall, approximately 10 cm taller than Daichi. The young man was standing very close in front of Daichi. He gave Daichi a hard chin pinch, making him look up.
"Listen, Daicchan, I did everything myself. I never asked anyone else to take your portrait because I find that photos taken by other people's hands are in no way satisfying." A string of sentences came out of Shuhei's thin lips. The young man's expression remained expressionless, but something changed in his eyes—a slight obsession, almost.
Daichi ignored the slight alteration, concentrating instead on Shuhei's remarks, which to him seemed like an explanation.
"You denied because protecting that girl, right? It seems to me that the girl took better pictures than you did! Why isn't it satisfying? I don't think I'll believe it for random reasons like that. I'm not that foolish."
Shuhei explained that the satisfaction he was referring to was not what Daichi mentioned, but rather the sensation of being directly in front of that person when fantasizing through photos. He had this feeling when he photographed Daichi by himself.
Daichi's face went pale at once. "Y—you sick!"
He strained, attempting to break free from Shuhei's large hand holding his chin.
The grip came free with relative ease, either because Shuhei permitted it or because Daichi exerted so much effort. Daichi shot off running, not bothering to look back.
Shuhei didn't move, only his eyes narrowed in terror as he cast a quick glance at Daichi's next locker. He smiled as he read the name tag on the locker door.
"It seems that you dare to be lustful for my Daicchan. Let me show you how to clean you up, Suzuki Sonoda."
•~•
Even after getting into the train, Daichi ran wildly and was not at all composed. The large pounding in Daichi's heart didn't stop until he was standing in front of his house.
"I'm home," Daichi said in greeting.
His mother greeted him right away from the kitchen.
"Is Daichi home? Your schoolmate informed me over the phone that you were not feeling well at school." His mother put her hand on Daichi's forehead. "Now tell me, which is inconvenient? Or should we go to the hospital?"
"I'm okay, Mom,"
"Is it true?"
Daichi nodded. "That's right. Then, I'll rest now."
The moment Daichi realized something was wrong, his steps stiffened. The young man turned to face his mom. "Mom, who called earlier?"
"Your schoolmate."
Daichi's frown deepened. He thought he did not have a close friend from school with whom he could talk trash over the phone. It was even more improbable if Akira was involved.
"What's his name?"
"His name is Yoshimoto——who? I forgot his first name."
Daichi was boiling over the mere mention of Yoshimoto. His mother was still struggling to remember someone's first name when he entered the room right away.
Daichi leaned against his room's door after slamming it shut. His brain which had received a small shock attack began to work again.
"That guy ... said such stupid things to my mother. What did he mean?" Daichi growled angrily. "Is he using my mother to gently warn me?"
Daichi had good reason for what he think. Shuhei had previously threatened him by mentioning his mother's health.
"He even knows my mother has a history of heart disease. Is he looking into every detail of my life and my family's background? He's truly an insane stalker!" Daichi has just come to realize how awful Shuhei is.
•~•
Low moans and gasps, mixed with other weird noises, reverberated throughout the dimly lit room. Anyone who heard it would be extremely embarrassed because of how heavy and awkward the atmosphere was.
Shuhei's handsome face was displaying obvious lust, and he was blurting out inappropriate words and a name—the name of the owner of the photo that was the source of his deviant fantasies.
After finishing his dirty ritual, Shuhei looked at the nearly fully covered photo in white liquid for a while, his expression satisfied.
With such seriousness, it seemed like he was making a promise, Shuhei said to the depressing picture, "As soon as possible, I'll definitely do it with the real you."
Moving towards his bedroom window, Shuhei got out of bed. He drew back the curtains, letting light in through the window, not caring that his hands were filthy from handling lewd objects. The street lamp cast a yellowish light that covered the young man with the surname Yoshimoto's n*d* body. A hazy pattern of red peonies and dragons stretched from his back to his right arm. 
•~•
Daichi was the same shade of pale as he was the day before when he left for school. His mother was so concerned about her son that she could not stop worrying when he appeared weak and lethargic after always being happy and energetic.
"Let's go to the hospital to get checked, okay?" Daichi's mother persuaded.
"No, Mom. I'm fine. Don't worry."
"Oh, how could I not worry? Take a look at how exhausted and pale you look! You really not feeling well, as your schoolmates mentioned yesterday."
When Daichi heard his mother bring up Shuhei, his eyebrows immediately furrowed in disapproval.
"How absurd! It was him who turned me into this way." Daichi's heart was filled with anger.
His mother was very hard to convince. Daichi's mother eventually allowed him to leave after he promised to check at the school clinic.
"Alright. Be careful on the road. Avoid haphazard running around in case it compromises your health." Mom gave the order to Daichi.
Along the way, Daichi wondered if he truly looked that sick after hearing his mother's message.
•~•
Daichi still had to go up a lot of stairs and uphill roads after getting off the train in order to get to the school, which was perched on a hill.
"It's only halfway through, but why I'm feeling so exhausted?" Daichi remarked. Then he put his hand to his forehead to check if he was feverish.
"Actually, it is a little warm. If it's like this, I really have to check at the school clinic later. Oh, really troublesome."
Daichi talked to himself as his feet ascended the cement steps one after another.
Ding.
Daichi was a little surprised to hear the sound of an incoming message on his cellphone.
"Why did it sound suddenly? Make me surprising!" The young man swore in frustration.
Daichi didn't look at the sender of the message. He just focused on clicking on the message right away, and an offensive picture showed up.
A picture of his photo covered in white liquid is included in the image.
Daichi knew very well who's the sender. His heart erupted with anger. He felt his blood suddenly gasp and a sudden coldness creep from his toes to the top of his head, making him feel lightheaded.
"How disgusting...." Daichi felt like he was about to pass out from nausea in his stomach, which prevented him from saying anything more.
Someone grabbed Daichi's waist as soon as his body began to sway, preventing him from falling. Daichi wanted to thank him, but the dizziness got the better of him when he realized who was holding him.
He immediately cursed.
"What a bastard you are."
Daichi fainted and slumped in Shuhei's arms as his curses grew weaker.
Glancing closely at the face of the person in his arms, Shuhei smiled warmly.
He had a joyful expression.
•~•